Optimus changes between integrated and discrete GPUs without any user input

For
a while now, NVIDIA has been offering a graphics technology that
allowed the user to change between a discrete GPU and an integrated
GPU in their notebook computer. The user had to initiate the change
when they wanted to use either GPU and many users simply never used
the feature. The goal was to give the notebook user a powerful GPU
when needed, but allow for a power sipping discrete GPU when battery
life was the main goal.

NVIDIA has today unveiled a new
technology called Optimus that
takes the dual GPU system NVIDIA already has and makes it much easier
for the user. Optimus is able to optimize the performance of the
notebook automatically without any input from the carbon-based life
form in front of the screen. What that means is that the technology
knows when the system needs the discrete GPU and will start it up
automatically and when the discrete GPU isn't needed, it turns it off
automatically.

NVIDIA's Rene Haas said, "Consumers no
longer have to choose whether they want great graphics performance or
sustained battery life. NVIDIA Optimus gives them both -- great
performance, great battery life and it simply works."

HotHardware writes,
"With previous NVIDIA offerings that featured support for Hybrid
SLI, which also allowed an NVIDIA IGP to display the output from a
discrete GPU, elements of the GPU's 3D pipeline were used to copy
frame buffer data to the IGP. This caused the 3D engine to stall
during DMA operations. With the new Optimus Copy Engine, however, the
3D engines are not stalled during the copy process."

As PC
Perspective points
out, the real magic here is that the Optimus system doesn’t
require you to close any applications, logout of your account, or
reboot to start one GPU or another. Hybrid graphics from NVIDIA
before Optimus often required you to at least shut your open
applications.